A Rose by Any Other Name
by beautifulpurpleflame
Summary: All Raven wants to do is read while the team spends the day at the park. But Beast Boy has other ideas. Commissioned by SimplyCarline. BBxRae
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I do not own Teen Titans. This was a commission submitted by simplycarline on tumblr. The idea for the story belongs to her.**

Chapter 1

Sunshine very rarely felt perfect. It was often too bright or too hot or too hidden away. But this was one of those oh so rare days when it just felt just right. So it was decided very quickly and nearly unanimously that the day should be spent outside in its entirety. They packed their bags with games and toys and food and piled into the T-car for a well-deserved day at the park. And well-deserved it certainly was after all the team had been through the last few weeks. Criminals one after another trying to steal and destruct and corrupt and just about destroy anything pleasant seemed to take up their time all day every day. Whenever they'd accomplished one mission another two would arise. All five members were on edge from the constant rush of adrenaline and grumpy from the lack of rest. But finally they'd wrapped up all loose ends and it seemed everyone, including the villains, were ready for a break.

"Is all of this stuff necessary?" asked Raven, looking at the luggage that had been packed into the vehicle and now had to be removed. She wore a large sunhat for, unlike everyone else, a bright sunny day wasn't exactly her favorite time to be outside. "It's a day at the park not a trip to Australia."

"We can't all be easy like you and just need a book," Beast Boy smirked and lifted a cooler on one shoulder and a bag full of volleyball gear on the other. "Love the hat, by the way."

She frowned and turned away from him. "Sunshine isn't exactly my friend. And I wouldn't make fun of my fashion choice when you're wearing those hideous sunglasses."

"Hey these are designer shades," he replied. "All the celebrities are wearing them. And I wasn't making fun of your hat, FYI. I really do like it."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she rolled her eyes and grabbed a box full of food.

"This may be the last nice day we have for a while, guys," said Nightwing, pulling out three large folded up blankets that had been wedged in the trunk. "We've got to make the most of it."

"In other words, we're not going home 'till sunset," Cyborg smiled and pulled a grill out of the car, much to everyone's confusion as to how he'd fit it in there.

"Friends, may I choose our spot of picnicking today?" Starfire clapped excitedly.

"Go for it," Nightwing smiled. She squealed and flew off to look around.

"Just not too far away!" Beast Boy called after her.

"Why? Afraid you won't be able to carry everything?" Cyborg snickered.

"Hah! I could carry all of this around the park twice without getting tired," the changeling boasted and readjusted the cooler on his shoulder. His notoriously stringy muscles were a thing of the past, now that his body was filling out and maturing with age.

"Good, then you can carry this," said Raven, using her powers to put the box she had been holding on top of him, balanced on the cooler and volleyball gear just above his head.

He made a slight grunting sound as the added weight hit him but, after taking a moment to make sure everything was balanced, he straightened up and smirked. "See? No problem. You wanna climb on top, too?"

"Why would I?" she asked. "So that you can make some obscene joke about me liking to be 'on top'?"

She swore that for a moment she saw him blush but it was gone in nearly the same instance and a large smirk graced his lips. "Ooh, I hadn't thought of that but good idea! Come on, climb up there so I can use that gem."

She growled and walked away from him, cursing herself. He was obviously starting to rub off on her if she was able to think something like that up on her own. "Where the hell is Starfire?"

"Friends! Over here! I have found the perfect place for our picnic!" the alien exclaimed from the air as if on cue.

She led them over to a flat area of grass that was right on the edge of trees where they could find shade. They quickly set up camp and went about doing as they pleased. Cyborg got the grill going right away while flying a kite attached to his foot. Nightwing and Starfire were throwing a Frisbee back and forth, though of course it was in no way simple. Starfire shot it from the air and Nightwing dodged and jumped and did his best to catch it in as nontraditional a form as he could. Beast Boy was stretching his legs, running around the warm thick grass in as many forms as he could think of. He was glad he'd saved his money and had an outfit made of morphing material created that looked like casual clothes. Up until then he was the only team member, apart from Cyborg who was exempt for never wearing clothes in the first place, who couldn't wear normal outfits on his off days because of his powers. Raven sat on a blanket in the shade of her hat reading one of her books.

"Okay the grill's hot," Cyborg smiled. "Anyone hungry?"

"I shall have one of the hot-dogs," said Starfire.

"Same here," said Nightwing.

"I want a veggie burger," said Beast Boy.

"Sorry, I 'forgot' your burgers," Cyborg smirked. "Guess you'll just have to have bread."

"I knew you'd 'forget' so I put some in the cooler," said Beast Boy. "And I want two."

"Unfortunately I might have 'accidentally' taken them out before we left," said Cyborg. "So it's meat or bread, Grass Stain."

"Dude, that's so not cool!" Beast Boy frowned. "How many years are we gonna fight about this?"

"Relax, I packed some portabella mushrooms," said Raven, turning a page in her book. "I knew Cyborg would think they were for the salad and would ignore them."

"Portabella burgers? Sweet!" Beast Boy smiled. "I want mine with cheese, if you don't mind, Rust Bucket."

"Aw, why would you do that for him?" Cyborg pouted.

"They're not for him, they're for me," said Raven. "They're healthier than hamburgers and taste good. I figured something like this would happen so I packed enough for the two of us, just in case." She watched as Cyborg grumbled and grabbed two mushrooms to put on the grill.

"I owe you one," said Beast Boy, sitting down with her on the blanket. "So…you're not gonna do this the whole time, are you?"

"Do what?" she asked.

"Sit and read."

"Probably."

"Well that's no fun."

"It is for me."

"Yeah but you read every day. You should get up and move around for once. It's good for you."

"Listen, we're here to relax and gather our sanity. For the four of you it's playing in the park. For me it's reading. This is what's good for me."

He sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair, looking off in the distance. "So I'm guessing you wouldn't even consider going for a walk?"

"I may when my legs start to feel stiff or my behind goes numb."

"Really? Cuz I was gonna go for a walk later. You wanna come with?"

She eyed him for a moment. "Why?"

"I don't know, I just thought it'd be nice," he shrugged. "Better than walking alone."

"I like walking alone," she said plainly.

"Oh," his ears lowered. "Well I was just asking." He stood up and left the blanket, walking over to the volleyball gear and opening the bag.

"You want help?" asked Nightwing.

"No, I got it," the changeling said. "I need something to do."

Raven watched as her green teammate proceeded to try and figure out how to get the net up on his own. She couldn't help feeling that something strange had passed between them. He never asked her to do things with him, not alone anyway. And he seemed really crushed when she turned him down. Normally when she'd decline an offer from him he'd shrug. She just couldn't fathom why he'd want to do something like walking together. Was he planning a prank? Did he need to use her for some scheme? She just couldn't trust that it was to simply walk around the park together. She was only brought out of her thoughts when Cyborg finally announced that the food was ready.

After their pre-lunch, as Cyborg was calling it since he had many meals planned for the day, the group began a game of volleyball. Raven played referee, as per usual, but was more interested in her book than the game. So whenever they questioned her about whether a ball was in or out she'd simply choose one or the other. After a while they became fed up and began to 'accidentally' send the ball flying her way, trying to knock the book out of her hands. It never even came close.

"When did this become dodge ball?" she asked, shooting the ball up into the air with her powers as high as she could. Starfire flew up to fetch it.

"It wouldn't have if you took playing ref seriously," said Cyborg, staring up into the sky, along with the other two men, and trying to find where Starfire and the ball went.

"If I did you'd have argued with my rulings anyway," she shrugged. "Besides, I've just reached the climax of my book. I find this more important than your sport."

"Uh, Raven, how high did you send that ball?" asked Nightwing, still looking up.

"Beats me," she said and turned the next page in her book.

Beast Boy whistled, "I don't see Star at all. Not a speck, nothing!"

It went quiet as they continued to look up. Raven eventually looked up as well, growing concerned as to whether she'd sent the ball out of the Earth's orbit. Finally a small dot appeared and began to grow larger is it descended. Before long Starfire landed and presented the ball with a smile.

"I have retrieved the ball of volley," she said. "Shall we continue our game?"

"How high up did you fly?" asked Cyborg.

"Oh not very," she said, though that was a relative term considering what Starfire believed to be high. "While I was up there an airplane was passing by so I decided to wave to everyone. They were quite pleased."

"You probably gave the pilot a good scare," Beast Boy chuckled.

"Well all of that sky staring's given me an appetite," said Cyborg, rubbing his metallic abdomen. "Who wants barbeque chicken?"

"Oh, I shall have some!" said Starfire, raising her hand.

"I'm still kind of full but I guess I could have a little," Nightwing shrugged.

"Count me out," said Beast Boy, and rightly so.

"I'm going to finish this chapter then go for a walk," said Raven as she stuck her nose back into her book.

"Really? Whereabouts?" asked the changeling, his eyes growing bright and his ears perking up.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Around the pond, I guess. I'll go feed the ducks and geese some bread."

"Oh no, you're not using my buns to feed those web footed moochers," Cyborg protested. He was still terribly bitter over an incident that had happened two years before during a day at the park when a large goose had stolen his sandwich after he'd fallen asleep by the pond.

"You brought enough to feed two football teams," said Raven. "I'm taking a package. Besides, you didn't buy them."

"Neither did you," Cyborg countered.

"Nightwing," Raven turned to the team leader.

"She can take a package to feed the ducks," Nightwing said firmly, though the corners of his lips were most certainly pointing up.

Cyborg grumbled and dragged his heavy feet to the grill to begin cooking once again. Starfire and Nightwing chuckled at the robotic man's defeat and decided to lie down on the blanket and take a rest until their food was ready. Beast Boy seemed to suddenly disappear.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It didn't take her long to finish the chapter, she was a fast reader after all, and before Cyborg could plate up his batch of chicken she clapped the book shut. She placed it in her bag and stood, giving a great stretch. She went over to the pile of food and grabbed a package of hotdog buns, ignoring Cyborg as he gave her the stink eye. She began to walk across the lush green grass towards the path that led to the pond and was quite aware of the presence chasing after her. She could not for the life of her think of a reason for Beast Boy wanting to tag along with her on a walk. But there he was, sure enough.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked with his signature toothy, or should we say fangy, grin.

"Doesn't matter to me," she said plainly.

"Cool," he said and she swore she could hear him exhale the word as though he'd been nervous of rejection.

They came upon the path and followed it around the park, slowly and silently. They took in the fresh air, though she nearly lost her hat with every breeze, and surveyed the civilians taking advantage of the beautiful day. Though Raven often found herself a step behind everyone due to her short legs she observed that Beast Boy was staying even with her pace. He strolled right by her side but was looking at everything and everyone but her. She could feel that he was a bit jittery and excited though she wasn't sure why. She was starting to think that it would've been better if she'd told him to stay behind and let her take the walk alone.

The pond was calm and reflected the beautiful sunshine. There were scores of ducks and geese and swans all about and many seemed to stay close to shore, waiting for someone to offer a handout. Raven opened the bag of bread and offered the shape shifter a bun. He smiled and accepted the roll, quickly walking up to the edge of the water. He authentically quacked and honked, which caused all of the birds to turn their heads in his direction instantly, and began to tear bits of bread of toss them into the water. They headed his way quick and seemed to multiply. Raven quickly took out a bun for herself and went to appease the feathered crowd that had swarmed her teammate.

"Okay, note to self, next time I'll let them find me instead of calling them over," he said, unable to keep up with the demand.

"So much for enjoying a relaxing time feeding the ducks," she sighed as various bills nipped at her legs and angrily pecked her feet. "Tell them to calm down."

He shooed a particularly gluttonous goose away from his leg then began to quack and honk. Again the birds turned their heads right up at him, quite perplexed, and went quiet as they listened. Once he'd finished the flocks made their way back to the water and swum a few feet out.

"What did you say?" she asked curiously.

"Just told them to be polite and give us some space or there'd be no more bread," he grinned with a shrug.

"Wow, they sure take direction well from a strange green human who speaks their language," she said.

"Yeah, well, I may have thrown in a threat about putting up a 'Do Not Feed the Birds' sign," he winked.

"Do they even know what a sign is?" she asked, flatly but honestly curious.

"No but that's basically the gist of what I told them," he said. "It's hard to translate a lot of the human language into animal language, believe it or not."

"No I completely believe it," she said. "Hmm, that never occurred to me."

"What didn't?"

"That you actually speak many different languages. Granted they're all in animal but I think that's as valid as speaking Spanish or French."

"I do actually speak another human language apart from English."

"You do?" She was quite taken back by this revelation. "What?"

He smirked and said, "Not telling."

She stared at him expressionlessly for a moment before rolling her eyes. "Fine."

"Sorry, there's just some personal stuff I wanna save for as long as I can. Gives me that mysterious edge."

"You don't need to explain it to me, it's none of my business." She then noticed a small white duck that had not retreated to the pond with the others. It stood right next to the changeling and its feather tuft of a tail was wagging. "It seems you have a fan."

He looked at her oddly then gazed down at the fowl by his feet. "Aw!" he gushed. He crouched down and pet its little head, which it gladly allowed. "Hey little dude, why're you still out here." He gave a few small quacks and the duck quacked back. "Opps, sorry, dudette." They proceeded to have a small conversation in duck talk while Raven watched on.

"You certainly have a way with animals," she noted. "No one can deny you that fact."

"Damn right," he smirked and stood back up. He quacked again then, after returning a quack, the bird waddled towards the water. "What a cutie."

"She certainly took a shine to you," she said with a small smile.

"She likes my voice," he chuckled. "Said she'd be my mate if I were normal."

"Normal?"

"A duck."

"Ah, that makes sense." She threw the last bit of bread into the pond and crumpled up the plastic bag. She turned and began walking back towards the path, depositing the trash into a garbage can, and felt him quickly catch up with her.

"You're not going back, are you?" he asked quickly.

"Why not?" she asked, not stopping. "I accomplished my goal of feeding the birds. Besides, the wind's really annoying me. I'm tired of holding onto this hat."

"Just take it off!" he suggested. "A little sun will be good for you. It'll give you a good dose of Vitamin D."

"And blind me," she added.

"Here, you can wear my sunglasses," he said, taking his shades off and placing them on her. He smiled and said, "See? Perfect!"

She was not amused and slipped them off. "Beast Boy, what's going on with you today?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," she said, not letting him off the hook for feigning ignorance, as he often did when guilty. "Why did you want to take a walk with me? Why have you felt so anxious? Why won't you let me go back to the blanket? So, I'll ask you again, what's going on with you today?"

"Uh, well, you see," he coughed and scratched behind his left ear, a tell she'd learned long ago that meant he was embarrassed or anxious, "I was sorta hoping to talk to you…alone."

"You can do that any time. Just knock on my door. So what's wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I just, uh, wanted to ask you if you would maybe…" he petered off then began to look around him. He seemed to be noticing all of the various people around them, they had drawn quite the crowd with the bread incident, and pursed his lips. He grabbed her wrist and began to lead her off the path towards a patch of trees that were unoccupied. She had a good mind to pull out of his grip and demand an explanation but he held her so firmly and purposefully she decided it better to just let him complete the task then question him.

Once they were amongst the trees she asked, "What the hell was that about?"

"I just don't wanna do this with a billion people eavesdropping and watching and stuff," he said, running a hand through his hair. Another tell of his anxiety.

"Well we're here. So ask me whatever it is that's so important," she crossed her arms.

He inhaled through his nose sharply. "Okay, so, do you think you would possibly maybe consider…"

He paused and seemed to have spotted something amongst the trees. She turned to look where he was gazing but couldn't see anything out of place. He walked passed her and seemed to be heading towards something. She sighed and followed after him, wondering what the problem was now. She knew no one was spying on them for she felt no such presence and she felt no danger lingering so whatever he'd spotted wasn't malicious. So she guessed he'd just become distracted by something. It could have been anything from a butterfly to a soda can lying under a bush.

"Do you see that?" he asked.

"See what?" she replied, now trying a little harder to see what he was seeing.

"That," he whispered, pointing to a bit of shrubbery. As he approached it he crouched down and reached out to push a bit of the leaves and sticks aside. There, shaded by the foliage, stood a single flower. A rose, to be exact. A full, beautiful rose that glowed azure instead of scarlet.

She wasn't sure how he'd spotted it so well hidden and from such a distance but it certainly did stand out amongst the rest of the patch of wilderness once the shrub was pushed away. He did have good eyes but he'd have to have had Superman's vision to see it from where they'd been standing.

"Wow, look at that," he said. "That's pretty cool, huh?"

"It's definitely beautiful," she stated, for it was an exceptional specimen of a flower. "I have no idea how it ended up out here, though."

"Well nature's full of surprises," he smiled. He then knelt down and carefully, using a quick swipe with a pair of claws, severed the stem and retrieved the flower. He stood back up, wiped the dirt from his knees, and presented it to her. "Blue's your favorite color, right?"

"Thanks," she said kindly. "Sure you don't want to present it to your girlfriend back at the pond?"

"What girlfriend?" he barked, startling them both. He then cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. "I mean, uh, I don't have a girlfriend."

"I was referring to that duck by the pond," she clarified, eyeing him oddly.

"Oh," he peeped and rubbed the back of his neck while he blushed with obvious embarrassment.

She sighed and crossed her arms, careful not to harm the rose she held carefully. "Alright, now that we've discovered what you'd seen in the bushes, let's get back to why you dragged me in here in the first place."

"Oh right." He subtly shook out his tense muscles as though he were about to get into a fight and took in a few breaths. "Okay so like I was saying before I spotted the rose, which was an amazing feat. I mean, you've gotta give me that. No one else would be able to find something so unique that was hidden away under all of this…vegetation. Speaking of which, be careful holding it cuz it's got thorns all over. Getting stuck by a thorn is no fun, believe me."

"Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you please, for the love of Azar, get on with it?" she snapped, growing impatient.

"Oh jeez, alright," he said, growing annoyed with himself now. "Here we go. I'm just gonna say it all in one go." He took in a breath and said strong and clearly, "Raven would you possibly consider doing something with me?"

"Doing something with you?" she asked, unimpressed.

"Yeah like on a Friday night?" he continued, trying to keep his courage up. "Maybe…this Friday night?"

"You want me to do something with you this Friday night?" she repeated back to him, making sure she was completely clear on his request. Then suddenly all of the pieces, all of his actions and emotions, came together. "Wait a second. You're not asking me out on a…date, are you?"

"Yes," he sighed, his whole body looking exhausted from enduring the strain of the anticipation about asking this question all day.

"Why would you want to go out on a date with me?" she asked, confused and even a bit flustered. "Do you need practice? Have you run out of single girls in the city? Do you have to make good on a bet?"

"No! I just… I just like you and wanna go out with you," he said honestly, though he found it hard to look her in the eyes as he was embarrassed. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "You've never shown any romantic interest in me before. Besides, we've got nothing in common. How on earth do you think we'd be compatible as a couple?"

"Well it's only recently that I've started to…notice you," he said bashfully. "You know, we're all growing up and stuff and I'm finally starting to see you differently. I know we don't have a lot in common and I don't know if we'd make a good couple but if we don't give it a go then we'll never know one way or the other. So…what do you think? Wanna give me a try?"

"I don't know," she said after a prolonged silence. "Let me…let me think about it."

"Okay, fine, think about it," he said, seeming to be glad he wasn't given an answer to quickly. "Just let me know when you've decided, okay?"

"Trust me, you'll be the first to know," she said and headed out of the trees and back towards the path. This time he didn't chase after her. She didn't want to look behind her, she didn't want to give him that satisfaction, but when she didn't feel him following her at all she had to take a peek. She spotted him walking back towards the pond, hands in his pockets but head up. He seemed to be basking in the warm sunshine.

She made it back to their picnic spot and took a seat on the blanket. Cyborg was licking the remains of barbecue sauce out of the joints in his fingers and was already discussing what he wanted to cook next.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was dark when they returned to the tower after a very long and restful day. They were covered in bug bites, Beast Boy didn't allow them to use bug spray as he claimed it gave him a headache, and Nightwing was particularly sun burnt. He was actually quite a sight to see, sprawled on the couch all pink and uncomfortable. But luckily Starfire was there to baby him and rub aloe on his burns.

"Why do I always forget to put on sunscreen?" Nightwing cursed. "I can orchestrate missions to take down the most insane criminal geniuses in the world but I can't remember to put on suntan lotion?"

"Perhaps it is because you forget how vulnerable your delicate skin is," Starfire suggested.

This caused Beast Boy and Cyborg to snort while Nightwing just felt all the more humiliated. "Just another reason I hate being the only 'normal' person on the team. No one else has to worry about getting fried under the sun."

"Excuse me?" Raven raised an eyebrow as she helped to put various things they'd taken to the park away. "Did I or did I not wear an obscenely large hat today in order to protect myself from the sun?"

"Yeah…well…you should have reminded me then!" he accused. "We fair skinned folk need to stick together."

"It's called common sense," she replied.

"Don't worry, man, if BB wasn't green I'm sure he'd be in the same boat as you," said Cyborg.

"Probably but I'm not," Beast Boy smirked. "Guess green skin has some advantages after all."

"Do not worry, I shall take on the task of protecting your epidermis from now on," Starfire assured him. "I will not let you leave the tower unless you are properly protected."

Nightwing sighed and sunk further into the couch, causing the changeling and partial robot to chortle some more. Raven made quick eye contact with Beast Boy then decided this was as good a time as any to take her leave.

After a quick shower she secluded herself in her room, lighting some incense and candles to calm her nerves and help her to focus. She put the rose in a small vase and placed it on her dresser. The appearance of the flower had caused quite a stir amongst her friends, especially Starfire who begged for it. She claimed they reminded her of an herb that grew on Tamaran but that wasn't a good enough reason for Raven to relinquish ownership. Very few things truly appealed to her but this blue rose really did attract her. And she could feel how happy it made Beast Boy feel to know that she wasn't going to give it away. She gave her hair a quick brushing then prepared to begin her thinking process. She was about to take the lotus position when a question suddenly popped into mind.

How did a blue rose end up in a small patch of woods in the middle of Jump City park?

She grabbed her laptop and decided to do some research. She didn't want to admit that she was procrastinating but she most certainly was. And she discovered something very thought provoking right off the bat.

Blue roses do not exist in nature.

She learned that roses that appear blue are either white roses dyed blue or genetically modified roses. Meaning that the rose that now sat atop her dresser had not grown from that secluded place beneath the shrubbery in the Jump City park. So… where did it come from? It didn't take her long to come up with a theory.

"He couldn't have actually planted it, could he?" she asked herself. "The fact that we ended up amongst the trees was because he was nervous about the crowd around us. We could have just as easily ended up in another part of the park. But… he did find the rose easily despite the fact that it was well hidden. Could he really be that good of an actor? Or did we happen to stumble upon someone else's attempt at being romantic and he used it to his advantage? If it was him why'd he go through so much effort?"

She sighed and continued researching, feeling that she was reading too much into this. There wasn't all that much more interesting about the blue rose. She read the history of how they were dyed and the breakthrough in genetically manipulating them. But she was given another surprise when she came upon the blue rose's meaning.

"In Chinese folklore the blue rose signifies hope against unattainable love."

She blushed in spite of herself and quickly scrolled down.

"The blue rose means mystery and an appreciation for the enigmatic. A tantalizing vision that cannot be totally pinned down, a mystery that cannot be fully unraveled. The receiver is the subject of a complex personality that does not allow easy interpretation."

Her heart was starting to quicken its pace now. How could all of this be a coincidence?

"The blue rose is a flower that seeks to convey a message of mystery, enchantment and a sense of the impossible. One should never forget that as a flower that is not found freely in nature, the blue rose has a certain charm and unique mystery that does not reveal itself freely."

She could read no more. She slapped her laptop closed and pushed it away, as though the information was the machine's fault. She sat thinking feverishly. How could it have been a coincidence that this flower that reminded her so much of herself had been a stone's throw away from them in the park just when he was going to confess his feelings and ask her out on a date? The chances of such an incident were so insignificant she had to rule them out. He had not only planted that flower there for her but he was secretly expressing his feelings towards her with it.

She felt an intense fire prickle and blaze throughout her body as she blushed deeply. No one had ever put that much thought and effort into anything for her before. On the rare occasion that a guy liked her and had the courage to do something about it it was often due to her fame or assumptions they'd made about her personality due to her appearance. This flower represented a genuine feeling of affection and understanding.

Now what was she to do? Should she accept his feelings and go ahead with a date? He clearly did have feelings for her but what of her for him? She'd never quite looked at him that way before; she'd never allowed herself to. She knew that dating someone you work with was a risky move and from the very beginning of the Titans had forbidden herself from exploring emotions for her teammates that went beyond that of friendship. Having to open that part of her heart was actually a bit… scary. But she had to. She couldn't cower away and give her default answer of refusal. Not after he'd put so much effort into his confession.

So how did she feel about him? On the negative side of things he could be overbearing at times and clingy. He was also stubborn and overdramatic. And though at times his boyish charm was endearing his lingering immaturity was incredibly off putting. On the positive, she found him to be kind and thoughtful. He was always trying to put the people around him in a good mood and he had the ability to light up a room. He was intensely brave and loyal to a fault. And there was an intelligent man beneath the fool, though he was only knowledgeable about things that truly interested him. Finally he wasn't difficult to look at. While she didn't believe in physical beauty being all that important in a person's character it certainly didn't hurt; it was more of a bonus. And, now that she was actually thinking about it, she could see herself being attracted to him if she were to open her heart.

After weighing the pros and cons it seemed the pros had won out. It made more sense to give the date a go than to decline. This didn't mean she wasn't still apprehensive about accepting his feelings but there was enough of a base for them to start comfortably. After all, it was only a date. He wasn't asking to be her boyfriend.

She looked at the time and saw that it wasn't all that late. She blew out her candles and decided to go tell him her decision. She doubted he'd be asleep, what with his anxiety still filling the halls. Feeling his nerves certainly didn't help her own but she did her best to suppress them and keep her heart steady. She made it to his room and, after taking a moment to breathe, knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" he called.

"It's me."

She listened as the sound of things being tossed around filled the air before he slid his door open, looking unprepared and yet excited. "Hey, hi."

"Hi," she said, a bit amused by the double greeting. "I've come to give you my answer. But before I do I have a question for you."

"Okay," he said nervously.

"Did you or did you not plant that blue rose in the park?"

She watched as his face drained and went pale. "W-What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Did you plant that rose or was it really happenstance that you found it? Your answer is actually quite important in finalizing my decision." It really wasn't but she wanted to see what he was going to do. It was now more clear to her than ever that it had been his doing.

He scratched behind his left ear and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He seemed scared to death of giving the wrong answer and this kept him quiet for far too long. She had thought it was amusing at first but now she could see he was being tortured over giving an answer.

"Beast Boy," she said, getting his attention, "I just want the truth. I won't let anyone take me out if his first act of courting is to lie to me."

He pursed his lips over a whine then finally cringed and said, "Yeah, I put it out there."

She took this. "Alright, that's all I needed to know."

"Are you mad?" he asked, still bracing himself for a bad reaction.

"You think I'd be mad?" she asked. "I would have been disappointed if I found out we really had discovered it accidentally. Knowing that you went through all that trouble in order to set the mood in order to ask me out is quite…sweet."

He beamed upon hearing this and the tension was gone instantly. "You thought it was sweet? Really?"

She nodded. "Incredibly so. But I would like to know why you chose a blue rose."

"Well cuz it's your favorite color," he said bashfully.

"Oh," she said, a little disappointed. Had it just been a coincidence that the rose held so much meaning that was akin to herself?

"Well that's why I chose it in the beginning," he continued. "I thought it would score me some points if I got you a flower that was your favorite color. So I went to a gardening shop and the woman working there told me all about blue roses. And when she told me what they mean I knew that it was the flower for you. Cuz, you see, the meaning of blue roses is mystery and a longshot at love. So they're basically you in flower form. It just felt perfect."

Now it was her turn to beam. He had done his research and had presented her with the flower because it reminded him of her. "It was perfect. And I'm really thankful you put all of that time and trouble into it."

"You don't know the half of it," he chuckled. "I had to grow four of them in my closet. It was like having a pet that could wilt and die any day! I got pricked so many times by those stupid thorns. And, boy, are they pungent! They may smell good to the average person but my super sensitive nose was dying."

"You grew it yourself?" she asked, shocked.

"Well yeah," he shrugged. "You can't just buy a single potted blue rose that's ready for planting, you know? So I grew four of them and planted the best one."

"Wait a second, how long have you been working on this?" she asked, her head beginning to spin.

"A couple months," he shrugged with a grin.

He'd been planning the moment they'd shared today for months? So this wasn't just some sudden crush he'd figured out a few days ago, these were genuine long term feelings! She felt herself rouge all over and now it was her turn to fidget about. "Oh."

"So…" he said, trying to get her to look at him again.

"So?"

"So what's your decision? Can I take you out on Friday?" he asked with a nervous yet hopeful smile.

She swallowed and forced herself to nod through her nerves. "I'd like that."

The explosion of relief and joy she felt radiate off of him nearly bowled her over. "Cool! I mean, uh, great. So, um, how does seven sound?"

"Seven sounds fine," she said, unable to hide her smile. "I'm… looking forward to it."

She swore that if his face could break it would have then by the way he was grinning. "Me too."

They stood there for a moment, regarding each other, until she broke the trance. "Well I suppose I should be going then. I'm just about ready for bed after this interesting day."

"Yeah, I'm ready to pass out," he admitted. "I haven't been able to sleep well the last few nights thinking about this."

"Goodnight Beast Boy," she said kindly. "And I promise I'll take care of the rose."

He blushed slightly but couldn't help his smiling as he retreated into his room. "G'night Raven."

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and turned to head back to her room. She couldn't believe how content she felt. She hadn't a clue as to whether this would turn out well or not but at the moment it didn't matter. He genuinely cared for her and she'd be a fool to turn away from him.

She made it back to her room and all but collapsed onto her bed. She looked over at her rose sitting still and silent upon her dresser. She smiled and closed her eyes. Mystery and a longshot at love; that was her alright.

The End

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this commissioned story. Come follow me on tumblr!**


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